PepsiCo plans to roll out 100 heavy-duty Tesla Semis in 2023, when it will start using the electric trucks to make deliveries to customers like Walmart and Kroger.
PepsiCo Inc , which ordered the big trucks in 2017, is purchasing them “outright” and is also upgrading its plants, including installing four 750-kilowatt Tesla Inc charging stalls at both its Modesto and Sacramento locations in California, PepsiCo Vice President Mike O’Connell said in an interview. A $15.4 million state grant and $40,000 federal subsidy per vehicle helps offset part of the costs.
“It’s a great starting point to electrify,” said O’Connell, who oversees the company’s fleet of vehicles.
“Like any early technology, the incentives help us build out the program,” he said, adding that there were “lots” of development and infrastructure costs.
PepsiCo is the first company to experiment with the battery-powered Tesla Semis as a way of cutting its environmental impact.
United Parcel Service Inc and food delivery company Sysco Corp have also reserved the trucks, while retailer Walmart Inc is testing alternatives.
PepsiCo’s plans to use the Semis have been reported, but O’Connell provided new details on how the company is using them and its timeline for deploying them. Tesla Chief Executive Elon Musk initially said the trucks would be in production by 2019, but that was delayed due to battery constraints.
